Report: Urijah Faber to Face Vaughan Lee at UFC 156

Tatame.com has reported that Urijah Faber will next compete inside the Octagon in February, 2013, when he will take on England's Vaughan Lee at UFC 156.

The news may come as something of a surprise given Faber's tendency to fight nothing but the bantamweight division's top contenders, but the "California Kid" will most certainly find a game opponent in Lee, who has posted a 1-2 UFC record to date.

The contest will signify Faber's first action since he dropped a unanimous decision to Renan Barao earlier this July. The loss was Faber's fifth straight in title matches dating back to his WEC days.

Faber, however, has hardly struggled in non-title affairs, having posted a perfect 5-0 record in three-round bouts since 2009.

That could be a bad omen for Lee, as there will be no belt on the line when he is tasked to take on Faber at UFC 156.

The Brit began his UFC tenure little more than a year ago, debuting in a losing effort to Chris Cariaso. He followed up the decision loss by surprising MMA legend Norifumi Yamamoto with a first-round armbar.

Most recently, Lee was dominated by T.J. Dillashaw, who scored a rarely seen neck crank submission in the first round of their July contest.

In addition to Faber vs. Lee, UFC 156 is rumored to feature a quartet of promising scraps, including event headliner Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar, and main card draws Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio Silva, Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia.